Fork Weekly
Biscuits and gravy is the peak Southern comfort food, and the from-scratch version is worlds away from the canned-biscuit shortcut. You’ll get flaky, buttery biscuits under a blanket of that creamy, peppery, sausage-studded gravy.
Two hard rules make the biscuits:.
- Keep the butter and buttermilk cold so the fat stays in solid layers, then handle the dough as little as possible.
- For the gravy, cook the flour into the sausage fat before the milk goes in. That’s what turns the drippings into a silky cream sauce.
Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits smothered in creamy, peppery sausage gravy. The ultimate Southern breakfast made from scratch in 40 minutes.
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ cup (115 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ¾ cup (180 ml) cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing
For the sausage gravy
- 1 lb (450 g) breakfast sausage
- ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 2.5 cups (600 ml) whole milk, warmed
- ½ tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in the cold butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with pea-sized bits.
- Stir in the buttermilk just until a shaggy dough forms. Pat out on a floured surface, fold over itself 3–4 times, then pat to 1 inch thick and cut 6 biscuits.
- Place on a sheet pan so the biscuits touch, brush the tops with buttermilk, and bake 15–18 minutes until tall and golden.
- Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a skillet over medium, breaking it up, about 8 minutes. (Do not drain the fat!)
- Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw taste of flour. This will thicken it more.
- Gradually whisk in the warmed milk. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until thick enough to coat a spoon. Season generously with black pepper and salt.
- Split the warm biscuits in half and smother them with that loving gravy.
Recipe notes & tips
- Cold butter and buttermilk are essential. Warm fat means flat biscuits in the end.
- Warming the milk before adding keeps the gravy from seizing, prevents the temp from being pulled down, and thickens it up faster.
- Gravy will continue to thicken as it sits. If you need, loosen with a splash of the warm milk to serve.
650 kcalCalories
18 gProtein
38 gCarbs
36 gFat